popcorn ceiling
Hi
I want to remove the popcorn ceiling in a Streng home (1979). Is there asbestos in ceiling that late & if not, how do you remove it?
thanks
me
I doubt there was asbestos applied that late.
Spray the stuff with hot water and scrape it off with a long handled floor scraper (looks like a giant drywall taping knife on a broomstick). It usually peels right off, but makes quite a mess. I cleaned it off one beautifully coved, plastered ceiling and to my surprise found the ceiling absolutely pristine and free of plaster cracks. I can only imagine why somebody decided to screw up that ceiling in the first place.
Thee is no asbestos in the acoustic cieling texture (or popcorn) in most tract homes built in the late 60's and later.
I have removed twobedrooms of this stuff simply by taking a flat floor scraping tool (available at most hardware/ home improvemnt stores) without having to wet it down. You will have to clear the room, as it is very messy; and make sure you mask of the area with plastic.
The streng homes had a light knockdown texture that can be matched often by using a skip trowel technique, or sprayed with a drywall texture.
Scraping dry does save a lot of mess and avoids over saturation, which can damage drywall, flooring, create mildew, among other problems. and usnig a sharp tool at a slight angle, does not require too much elbow grease.
I have removed this both ways, and I advise dry removal if you are living in the space. Either way will require drywall finishing/texturing (or floating a smooth wall). If you have no experience with drywall finishing, it would be wise to have someone experienced in this skill to help or perform the work.
If you encounter areas that are very hard, that is a repair where the drywall finisher used a product called "hot mud", which has a catalyst that causes the joint compound to cure much faster, and it becomes pretty hard (it will resist water as well, and you would have to soak the area to the point of damaging the drywall. If this happens, remove the hot mud with a bit more effort, and it is likely you will have to do some minor floating and patching. Not a fun job, but it goes pretty fast. good luck.
